i am a 28 year old female with severe back and neck issues but my main concern is this lump in my lower right side of my back ive been told by many drs that it could be a bunch of different things its very frusterating because the lump is very painful and its been there for three years. i have been told it could be a muscle spasm, a soft tiisue inflamation, an arthritic syst, or an abses. im trying to find out who is the best dr to see for this lump and what test can be done to see what it is. i feel like im being brushed off but three years with this lump has caused 3 years of to much pain, i cant work right now, or play with my children like i ust to i have a really big problem with sitting up or walkin for longer than 10 minutes it feels like theres a giant wedge in my back please help me im to young for this i want my problem solved thankyou

A good internist should at least be able to refer you to the appropriate specialist, if not diagnose your problem first off. You've seen numerous doctors who've all given you random guesses, but no one's apparently taken much interest in the thing, which is odd. If it were a muscle spasm it would be unlikely to last three years. Same thing with soft tissue inflammation. It could, conceivably, be an arthritis cyst, but it should show up on CT or MRI. An abcess of some sort is also possible, but these usually won't remain stable for anywhere near three years either. More likely it's a calcium deposit or something that doesn't belong there. Have you had any imgaing done on this area at all? An MRI? Any sort of look or even palpation by a doctor to hopefully get an idea of what it is? Also, does it respond to over-the-counter pain medications such as ibuprofin? This would suggest it to be inflammatory in origin. That would be a help diagnostically.

Any good doctor in any specialty should be able to at least hazard a guess and point you in the right direction. I'd probably start with an orthopedist,since it most sounds like an orthopedic (skeletal or muscular) problem. It's impossible to make a more educated guess at a distance. Feeling the lump should at least yield some clue. I'm surprised no one has tried any harder to diagnose and treat it.